The prior art clothes washer/dry cleaner is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,108, issued Sept. 1, 1970. Related patents include U.S. Pat. No. 2,204,461, issued June 11, 1940, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,255, issued Apr. 18, 1967.
The prior art clothes washer and dry cleaner include a fixed outer casing having a door, an inner rotatable perforated drum for holding clothes during washing or dry cleaning thereof, drive means for rotating the drum relative to the casing about a common axis, fluid supply means for partly filling the casing with fluid, and fluid drain means disposed in the bottom of the casing for draining the fluid after cleaning of the clothes.
One problem with the prior art devices is that some dirt, which is at the top of the water or cleaning solvent after cleaning, passes down through the clothes during draining and remains in the clothes. Such liquid can include soap particles, lint, suspended particles and the like.